Temporal power control system and method

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are described for reducing processing time of messages that are repeatedly received, with increasing frequency, by a device (e.g., user equipment, base station etc.). For example, the systems and methods would have a base station decrease power, possibly to minimum power-out, per policy, if messages beyond the original are received and the time between those messages is decreasing. The decrease in time between messages indicates a more urgent need for the base station to power down. The systems and methods can be adapted for different types of messages (e.g., power-up, power-down, resource request, bandwidth request, service type, call type origination, quality-of-service request, application type, etc.). Each message type is associated with a policy (pre-determined or adaptive) that indicates the default behavior when the method detects a decrease in time between messages.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/262,837 filed Jan. 30, 2019, entitled TEMPORAL POWER CONTROL SYSTEMAND METHOD, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/805,089 filed Nov. 6, 2017, entitled TEMPORAL POWER CONTROL SYSTEMAND METHOD, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

In a traditional telecommunications network, when user equipment (e.g.,a mobile device) is required to power up in order to establish adesignated level of power at the base station receive antenna, themobile device is instructed by a detailed message from the base stationto take such action. For example, when the received power from themobile device drops below a threshold level, the base station determinesthat a power-up message is to be sent to the mobile device to ensurethat the mobile is at or above the threshold level. When the mobiledevice receives the power-up message, it decodes the message and takesappropriate action (e.g., powers-up). If the mobile device did not hearthe message or the level of power increase was not adequate (e.g., levelof power at the mobile is below the threshold level), subsequentmessages (e.g., a second message, third message, etc.) are sent untilthe desired level of power at the mobile is achieved. This processcontinues until adequate power is attained at the mobile device.

For example, in a scenario where a mobile device is moving down astreet, it may lose power due to changing path loss. Once a base stationdetects the loss of power, it could direct the mobile device to power-upto ensure that the power level is above a certain threshold level.However, while that first power-up message is being sent by the basestation, the mobile may enter a building (leading to further power loss)such that before the mobile can either decode and/or process the firstpower-up message, it receives subsequent power-up messages. In thismanner, the mobile device is tasked with decoding and processingmultiple power-up messages to achieve a certain power level. However,time is wasted by the mobile device as it decodes each power-up messageand takes the specified action (e.g., increasing the power level at themobile). Moreover, several iterations of power control messages arerequired, seldom in a fast changing path loss environment, until thedesired level of power at the mobile device is achieved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Implementations of the disclosed technology will be described andexplained through the use of the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a communication network, in accordance with variousimplementations.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a sequence of operations for receivingmessages at a user device associated with a user.

FIG. 3A is a flow diagram illustrating a method of optimizing thedecoding and processing of a series of messages within the communicationnetwork of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3B is a flow diagram illustrating a method of optimizing thedecoding and processing of a series of messages within the communicationnetwork of FIG. 1.

The drawings have not necessarily been drawn to scale. Similarly, somecomponents and/or operations may be separated into different blocks orcombined into a single block for the purposes of discussion of some ofthe implementations of the present technology. Moreover, while thetechnology is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms,specific implementations have been shown by way of example in thedrawings and are described in detail below. The intention, however, isnot to limit the technology to the particular implementations described.On the contrary, the technology is intended to cover all modifications,equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the technologyas defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In light of the above problems, as well as others, the inventors haverecognized that it would be beneficial to reduce decoding and processingtime of messages that are repeatedly received, with increasingfrequency, by a device (e.g., user equipment, base station etc.).Systems and methods are described herein for optimizing the decoding andprocessing of a series of messages that are received at an increasedfrequency. For example, the disclosed systems and methods would have auser equipment increase power, possibly to maximum power out, ifmessages beyond the original are received and the time between thosemessages is decreasing. The decrease in time between messages couldindicate a more urgent need for the user equipment to respond to and/ortake action in response to the messages (e.g., power up). The systemsand methods may be adapted for different types of messages (e.g.,power-up, power-down, quality of service, data speed request, resourcerequest, bandwidth request, call type origination, service type, powerheadroom report, radio bearer, handover, etc.). Each message type may beassociated with a policy (pre-determined or adaptive) that indicates thedefault behavior when the systems and methods detect an increased rateof messages received (e.g., decrease in time between messages).

Various implementations of the system will now be described. Thefollowing description provides specific details for a thoroughunderstanding and an enabling description of these implementations. Oneskilled in the art will understand, however, that the system may bepracticed without many of these details. Additionally, some well-knownstructures or functions may not be shown or described in detail, so asto avoid unnecessarily obscuring the relevant description of the variousimplementations. The terminology used in the description presented belowis intended to be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, eventhough it is being used in conjunction with a detailed description ofcertain specific implementations of the invention.

Suitable Computing Environments

FIG. 1 illustrates a telecommunications network 10 (also referred toherein as network 10) in accordance with various implementations orembodiments. The network 10 comprises a base station (BS) 12communicatively coupled to multiple user devices, referred to as UEs14_1, 14_2, . . . , 14_N, where N is an integer. The BS 12 serves UEs 14located within a geographical area, e.g., within a macro cell 16. FIG. 1illustrates the macro cell 16 to be hexagonal in shape, although othershapes of the macro cell 16 may also be possible. In general, thenetwork 10 comprises multiple macro cells 16, with each macro cell 16including one or more BSs 12.

In some implementations, the UEs 14_1, . . . , 14_N may comprise anydevices for communicating over a wireless communication network. Suchdevices include mobile telephones, cellular telephones, mobilecomputers, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), radio frequency devices,handheld computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, palmtops,pagers, integrated devices combining one or more of the precedingdevices, etc. As such, UEs 14_1, . . . , 14_N may range widely in termsof capabilities and features. UEs 14_1, . . . , 14_N may also includeSIM-less devices (i.e., mobile devices that do not contain a functionalsubscriber identity module (“SIM”)), roaming mobile devices (i.e.,mobile devices operating outside of their home access networks), and/ormobile software applications.

In some implementations, the BS 12 may communicate voice traffic and/ordata traffic with one or more of the UEs 14_1, . . . , 14_N. The BS 12may communicate with the UEs 14_1, . . . , 14_N using one or morecommunication protocols or standards. For example, the BS 12 maycommunicate with the UEs 14_1, . . . , 14_N using one or more standards,including but not limited to GSM, Internet Protocol (IP) MultimediaSubsystem (IMS), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS), Evolution-Data Optimized (EVDO), LongTerm Evolution (LTE), Generic Access Network (GAN), Unlicensed MobileAccess (UMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) protocols (includingIS-95, IS-2000, and IS-856 protocols), Advanced LTE or LTE+, OrthogonalFrequency Division Multiple Access (OFDM), General Packet Radio Service(GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), Advanced Mobile PhoneSystem (AMPS), WiMAX protocols (including IEEE 802.16e-2005 and IEEE802.16m protocols), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), (including HighSpeed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and High Speed Uplink Packet Access(HSUPA)), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), etc.

The BS 12 may be communicatively coupled (e.g., using a backhaulconnection, illustrated using solid lines in FIG. 1) to backhaulequipment, e.g., an operation support subsystem (OSS) server 18, a radionetwork controller (RNC) 20, etc. The RNC 20 can also be in the form ofa mobility management entity when the wireless communication network 10operates according to the long term evolution (LTE) standard or LTEAdvanced standard.

In some implementations, the base station 12 may comprise processors120, one or more transmit antennas (transmitters) 122, one or morereceive antennas (receivers) 124, and computer-readable media 126. Theprocessors 120 may be configured to execute instructions, which may bestored in the computer-readable media 126 or in other computer-readablemedia accessible to the processors 120. In some implementations, theprocessors 120 are a central processing unit (CPU), a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU), or both CPU and GPU, or any other sort ofprocessing unit. The base station 12 may also be in the form of a Node B(where the communications network 10 is 3G UMTS network) or in the formof an eNode B (where the wireless communication network 10 operatesaccording to the LTE standard or LTE Advanced standard).

The one or more transmit antennas 122 may transmit signals to the UEs14_1, . . . , 14_N, and the one or more receive antennas 124 may receivesignals from the UEs 14_1, . . . , 14_N. The antennas 122 and 124include antennas known in the art. For example, antennas 122 and 124 mayinclude radio transmitters and radio receivers that perform the functionof transmitting and receiving radio frequency communications. Theantennas 122 and 124 may be included in a transceiver module of the BS12.

The computer-readable media 126 may include computer-readable storagemedia (“CRSM”). The CRSM may be any available physical media accessibleby a computing device to implement the instructions stored thereon. CRSMmay include, but is not limited to, random access memory (“RAM”),read-only memory (“ROM”), electrically erasable programmable read-onlymemory (“EEPROM”), flash memory or other memory technology, compact diskread-only memory (“CD-ROM”), digital versatile disks (“DVD”) or otheroptical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which canbe used to store the desired information and which can be accessed bythe base station 12. The computer-readable media 126 may reside withinthe base station 12, on one or more storage devices accessible on alocal network to the base station 12, on cloud storage accessible via awide area network to the base station 12, or in any other location.

The computer-readable media 126 may store modules, such as instructions,data stores, and so forth that are configured to execute on theprocessors 120. For instance, the computer-readable media 126 may storea message processing optimization module 128 and a network settingsmodule 130, as will be discussed in more detail herein later.

Although FIG. 1 illustrates the computer-readable media 126 in the BS 12storing the message processing optimization module 128, the networksettings module 130, and/or one or more other modules (not illustrated,may be stored in another component of the network 10 (e.g., other thanthe BS 12). For example, one or more of these modules may be stored in acomputer-readable media included in the OSS server 18, the RNC 20,another server associated with the network 10, etc.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 1, various other modules (e.g., anoperating system module, basic input/output systems (BIOS), etc.) mayalso be stored in the computer-readable media 126. Furthermore, althoughnot illustrated in FIG. 1, the base station 12 may comprise severalother components, e.g., a power bus configured to supply power tovarious components of the base station 12, one or more interfaces tocommunicate with various backhaul equipment, etc.

The UEs 14 may comprise processors 140, one or more transmit antennas(transmitters) 142, one or more receive antennas (receivers) 144, andcomputer-readable media 146. The processors 140 may be configured toexecute instructions, which may be stored in the computer-readable media146 or in other computer-readable media accessible to the processors140. In some implementations, the processors 140 is a central processingunit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or both CPU and GPU, orany other sort of processing unit. The one or more transmit antennas 142may transmit signals to the base station 12, and the one or more receiveantennas 144 may receive signals from the base station 12. The antennas142 and 144 may be included in a transceiver module of the UE 14.

The computer-readable media 146 may also include CRSM. The CRSM may beany available physical media accessible by a computing device toimplement the instructions stored thereon. CRSM may include, but is notlimited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, a SIM card, flash memory or other memorytechnology, CD-ROM, DVD or other optical disk storage, magneticcassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magneticstorage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store thedesired information and which can be accessed by the UE 14.

The computer-readable media 146 may store several modules, such asinstructions, data stores, and so forth that are configured to executeon the processors 140. For instance, the computer-readable media 146 maystore a configuration module 148. Although not illustrated in FIG. 1,the computer-readable media 146 may also store one or more applicationsconfigured to receive and/or provide voice, data and messages (e.g.,short message service (SMS) messages, multi-media message service (MMS)messages, instant messaging (IM) messages, enhanced message service(EMS) messages, etc.) to and/or from another device or component (e.g.,the base station 12, other UEs, etc.).

Although not illustrated in FIG. 1, the UEs 14 may also comprise variousother components, e.g., a battery, a charging unit, one or more networkinterfaces, an audio interface, a display, a keypad or keyboard, a GPSreceiver and/or other location determination component, and other inputand/or output interfaces.

Although FIG. 1 illustrates only one UE (UE 14_1) in detail, each of theUEs 14_2, . . . , 14_N may have a structure that is at least in partsimilar to that of the UE 14_1. For example, similar to the UE 14_1,each of the UEs 14_2, . . . , 14_N may comprise processors, one or moretransmit antennas, one or more receive antennas, and computer-readablemedia including a configuration module.

The network settings module 130 stored in the computer-readable media126 maintains one or more network settings associated with the network10. Individual network settings maintained by the network settingsmodule 130 may be pertinent to a single UE of the UEs 14_1, . . . ,14_N, a subset of the UEs 14_1, . . . , 14_N, or each of the UEs 14_1, .. . , 14_N. For example, a network setting of the one or more networksettings may specify a maximum bit rate at which a UE (or each of theUEs 14_1, . . . , 14_N) may transmit data to the BS 12. Another networksetting of the one or more network settings may specify a transmit timeinterval (tti) used by each of the UEs 14_1, . . . , 14_N to transmitdata to the BS 12. Yet another network setting may specify a maximumpower that each of the UEs 14_1, . . . , 14_N may use to transmit datato the BS 12. The one or more network settings maintained by the networksettings module 130 may also include any other type of network settings.

One or more of the one or more network settings maintained by thenetwork settings module 130 may be communicated to the UEs 14_1, . . . ,14_N (e.g., by the transmit antennas 122 to the receive antennas 144 ofthe UEs 14_1, . . . , 14_N). Based on receiving the network settings,the UEs 14_1, . . . , 14_N (e.g., the corresponding configurationmodules 148) may configure themselves and communicate with the BS 12.

Generally, the network 10 is made up of multiple macro cells 16. Thus,depending on the configuration and size, the network 10 can representand serve various regional areas, e.g., a city, a state, an entirenation, the whole world, etc.

A counter 132 may be located within an application server (AS) 134,which may be a telephony application server (TAS). The applicationserver can also be located within the OSS server 18 or the RNC 20, or belocated outside the network 10. The network 10 may include multipleapplication servers 134, and therefore multiple counters 132.Furthermore, each application server 134 may include more than onecounter 132 to help keep track of various parameters.

The UEs 14 generally access or connect to the network 10 by aregistration process. Likewise, the UEs 14 exit the network 10 by ade-registration process. While UEs 14 are registered with the network10, they may communicate with the base station 12 by sending and/orreceiving messages. Examples of messages include, but are not limited tothe following types of messages: power-up, power-down, quality ofservice, data speed request, resource request, bandwidth request, calltype origination, service type, power headroom report, radio bearer,handover. The UEs 14 and/or the base station 12 may perform one or moreactions upon receiving a message.

For example, upon receiving a data transmission from one of the UEs(e.g., UE 14_1), the base station 12 may determine that the power usedby the UE to send the data transmission has fallen below a certainthreshold level. The threshold level may be pre-determined (e.g., aspecific threshold level value for the UE) or may be adaptive (e.g.,based on the type of UE device, location of UE device, time of day, pastbehavior of UE device, behavior of UE devices in a geographic area,etc.). Once the base station determines that the received power from theUE device has fallen below the threshold level, it sends a power-upmessage to the UE device. At a first point in time T1, the base stationmaintains the number of power-up messages sent to the UE (e.g., UE 14_1)using the counter 132. For example, as depicted in FIG. 2, at time t₁,base station 12 sends a first power-up message to the user equipment.

However, if the user equipment does not receive the first power-upmessage or the level of power increase is not adequate (e.g., the userequipment sends another data transmission to the base station at a levelof power that is still below the threshold level), at a second point intime T₂ (depicted in FIG. 2), the base station transmits a secondpower-up message to the user equipment. The base station updates thenumber of power-up messages sent to the UE (e.g., UE 14_1) using thecounter 132. This process continues (depicted in FIG. 2 by T_(n−2),T_(n−1), and T_(n)) until adequate power is attained at the userequipment.

The user station receives and tracks the series of messages from thebase station 12. For example, the user station computes the timeinterval between subsequent power-up messages (e.g., t_(int(1)),t_(int(n−1)), t_(int(n))) to determine the rates of received messages,where each time interval denotes the difference in time stamps whenpower-up messages were received:

-   t_(int(1))=<received timestamp of second power-up message>−<received    timestamp of first power-up message>-   t_(int(n−1))=<received timestamp of (n−1) power-up    message>−<received timestamp of (n−2) power-up message>-   t_(int(n))=<received timestamp of (n) power-up message>−<received    timestamp of (n−1) power-up message>

The user equipment may select one or more actions in accordance with anaction policy based on, for example, the rates of received messages. Theaction policy may be based on the type of message received. For example,if the type of message received is a power-up message, the userequipment may select an action policy associated with power-up messages.Similarly, if the type of message received is a quality-of-servicemessage, the user equipment may select an action policy associated withquality-of-service messages. Each action policy may be associated withone or more actions that can be performed in response to the receivedmessages.

An action policy may have an associated default action, such asincreasing the power of data transmission to a maximum power level. Insome implementations, an action policy comprises range-based actions.For example, an action policy may specify increasing the power of datatransmission to a certain power level based on a range of rates ofreceived data messages (e.g., if rate of received messages is between 2and 3, increase the power level of data transmission to 60%; if rate ofreceived messages is between 4 and 5, increase the power level of datatransmission to 80%, etc.). The user equipment may select an actionpolicy and perform one or more associated actions without decodingand/or processing the received message. For example, after determiningthe type of the messages (e.g., power-up) and determining the rates ofreceived messages (e.g., increasing rate of 2.5), the user equipment mayincrease the power of data transmission to a certain level (e.g., 60%)without examining the contents of the power-up messages to identify, forexample, the desired power level requested by the base station. In thismanner, the user equipment reduces processing time because it does notwaste time by decoding each power-up message received from the basestation. Moreover, several iterations of the same message (e.g.,multiple power-up messages) are not required, especially in a fastchanging path loss environment, because the user equipment reacts in amuch more timely manner by performing remedial actions in response to anincreased frequency of received messages (e.g., by increasing the powerlevel to a maximum power level).

In a similar manner, the base station 12 may track a series of messagesfrom one or more user equipment 14 (e.g., power-down messages). Based onthe rates of received messages, the base station may select one or moreactions in accordance with an action policy. The action policy may bebased on the type of message received. For example, if the type ofmessage received is a power-down message, the user equipment may selectan action policy associated with power-down messages. Further, similarto the action policies at the user-equipment side, action policies atthe base station 12 may be associated with one or more actions that canbe performed in response to the received messages.

FIG. 3A is a flow diagram illustrating a method 300 of optimizing thedecoding and processing of a series of messages within the communicationnetwork of FIG. 1. While FIG. 3A depicts that method 300 is performed bya user equipment, similar steps may be performed by a base station.Process 300 begins at step 305, where a user equipment receives amessage from a base station, such as the message types noted above. Atstep 310, process 300 identifies the type of the received message. Afteridentifying the message type, at step 315, process 300 determineswhether the received message is a first message received of theidentified message type in a particular time window. The time window maybe pre-determined or may be adaptive, and may be based on one or moreparameters, such as the type of message, time of day, location of userequipment, location of base station, past behavior of userequipment/base station, and/or other environmental factors. For example,if the received message is a power-up message, the time window may befive minutes, whereas for a quality-of-service message, the time windowmay be 10 minutes. If the received message is a first message receivedof the identified message type in a particular time window, at step 320,process 300 decodes and processes the received message. For example, ifthe received message is a power-up message, the user equipment decodesand processes the power-up message to increase the power level to alevel specified in the power-up message.

On the other hand, if the received message is not the first messagereceived of the identified message type in a particular time window(e.g., the received message is a second, third, etc. message of theidentified message type), process 300 proceeds to step 325. At step 325,process 300 computes a set of rates of received message types. Forexample, a set of rates of received message types comprises one or morerates of receipt that are based on the difference between timestamps atwhich each subsequent message is received (as depicted in FIG. 2 byt_(int(1)), t_(int(n−1)), t_(int(n))). Process 300 then proceeds to step330. In some implementations, process 300 proceeds to step 330 based oncertain criteria that may be customizable depending on the message type.For example, for power-up message, process 300 proceeds to step 330 whenthe rates in the set of rates of receipt of the received series ofmessages are increasing (e.g., messages are being received at a greaterrate/frequency such that t_(int(n))<t_(int(n−1)), or t_(n)−t_(in−1) isdecreasing). In some implementations, process 300 proceeds to step 330as soon as a second message of the same message type is received. Forexample, for quality-of-service messages, process 300 proceeds to step330 as soon as it receives a second quality-of-service message.

At step 330, process 300 identifies an action policy associated with themessage type. A common action policy may be identified for all (or asubset of) message types. Each action policy may be associated with oneor more actions that can be performed in response to the receivedmessages. An action policy may have an associated default action, suchas increasing the power of data transmission to a maximum power level.In some implementations, an action policy comprises range-based actions.For example, an action policy may specify increasing the power of datatransmission to a certain power level based on a range of rates ofreceived data messages (e.g., if rate of received messages is between 2and 3, increase the power level of data transmission to 60%; if rate ofreceived messages is between 4 and 5, increase the power level of datatransmission to 80%, etc.). Process 300 may select an action policy andperform one or more associated actions without the user equipmentdecoding and/or processing the received message.

At step 335, process 300 selects a responsive action associated with theidentified action policy. The responsive action may be selected basedon, for example, the rates of receipt of the messages. For example,after determining the type of the messages (e.g., power-up) anddetermining the rates of received messages (e.g., rate of 2.5), process300 may select a response action instructing the user equipment toincrease the power of data transmission to a certain level (e.g., 60%)corresponding to the rate of received messages. Process 300 theninstructs the user equipment, at step 340, to change its behavior by,for example, performing the selected responsive action (e.g., increasingthe power of data transmission to 60%).

Upon receiving subsequent messages of the same message type, process 300may perform one or more of steps 325-340 without waiting for the userequipment to decode and process each received message. In this manner,process 300 saves the communication link between the base station anduser equipment and the user's experience is improved.

FIG. 3B is a flow diagram illustrating a method 300 of optimizing thedecoding and processing of a series of messages within the communicationnetwork of FIG. 1. While FIG. 3B depicts that method 300 is performed bya user equipment, similar steps may be performed by a base station.Process 300 begins at step 355 when the user equipment receives a seriesof messages from the base station. The series of messages may comprisemessages of the same type or different types, such as the message typesnoted above. For example, the series of messages comprises four power-upmessages and two quality-of-service messages. At step 360, process 300identifies a type of each message in the series of received messages.For example, process 300 identifies that four of the received messagesare of a type power-up and two of the received messages are of a typequality-of-service. Process 300 then, at step 365, groups the receivedmessages into subsets that are based on the type of each message. Forexample, process 300 creates a first subset of power-up messages and asecond subset of quality-of-service message. In some implementations,messages of two or more message types may be grouped together (e.g.,messages of types power-up and power-down may be grouped into onesubset). After the received messages are grouped into message typesubsets, for each message type subset identified at step 370, process300 proceeds to steps 325-340 that are described in detail above.

CONCLUSION

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout thedescription and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and thelike are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to anexclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of“including, but not limited to.” As used herein, the terms “connected,”“coupled,” or any variant thereof, means any connection or coupling,either direct or indirect, between two or more elements; the coupling ofconnection between the elements can be physical, logical, or acombination thereof. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,”and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall referto this application as a whole and not to any particular portions ofthis application. Where the context permits, words in the above DetailedDescription using the singular or plural number may also include theplural or singular number respectively. The word “or,” in reference to alist of two or more items, covers all of the following interpretationsof the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list,and any combination of the items in the list.

The above detailed description of implementations of the system is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the system to the precise formdisclosed above. While specific implementations of, and examples for,the system are described above for illustrative purposes, variousequivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the system, asthose skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, somenetwork elements are described herein as performing certain functions.Those functions could be performed by other elements in the same ordiffering networks, which could reduce the number of network elements.Alternatively or additionally, network elements performing thosefunctions could be replaced by two or more elements to perform portionsof those functions. In addition, while processes, message/data flows, orblocks are presented in a given order, alternative implementations mayperform routines having steps, or employ systems having blocks, in adifferent order, and some processes or blocks may be deleted, moved,added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified to provide alternative orsubcombinations. Each of these processes, message/data flows, or blocksmay be implemented in a variety of different ways. Also, while processesor blocks are at times shown as being performed in series, theseprocesses or blocks may instead be performed in parallel, or may beperformed at different times. Further any specific numbers noted hereinare only examples: alternative implementations may employ differingvalues or ranges. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that theactual implementation of a database may take a variety of forms, and theterm “database” is used herein in the generic sense to refer to any datastructure that allows data to be stored and accessed, such as tables,linked lists, arrays, etc.

The teachings of the methods and system provided herein can be appliedto other systems, not necessarily the system described above. Theelements and acts of the various implementations described above can becombined.

Any patents and applications and other references noted above, includingany that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, are incorporatedherein by reference. Aspects of the technology can be modified, ifnecessary, to employ the systems, functions, and concepts of the variousreferences described above.

These and other changes can be made to the invention in light of theabove Detailed Description. While the above description describescertain implementations of the technology, no matter how detailed theabove appears in text, the invention can be practiced in many ways.Details of the system may vary considerably in its implementationdetails, while still being encompassed by the technology disclosedherein. As noted above, particular terminology used when describingcertain features or aspects of the technology should not be taken toimply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted toany specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the technologywith which that terminology is associated. In general, the terms used inthe following claims should not be construed to limit the invention tothe specific implementations disclosed in the specification, unless theabove Detailed Description section explicitly defines such terms.Accordingly, the actual scope of the invention encompasses not only thedisclosed implementations, but also all equivalent ways of practicing orimplementing the invention under the claims.

While certain aspects of the technology are presented below in certainclaim forms, the inventors contemplate the various aspects of thetechnology in any number of claim forms. For example, while only oneaspect of the invention is recited as embodied in a computer-readablemedium, other aspects may likewise be embodied in a computer-readablemedium. Accordingly, the inventors reserve the right to add additionalclaims after filing the application to pursue such additional claimforms for other aspects of the technology.

We claim:
 1. At least one non-transitory memory, storingcomputer-implementable instructions, which when executed by at least oneprocessor, preform a method comprising: receiving, at a base station, aseries of similar command messages from a user equipment; computingrates of the series of similar received command messages based ontimestamps of the command messages, wherein the series of similarreceived messages comprises a first message with a first timestamp, asecond message with a second timestamp, and a third message with a thirdtimestamp, and wherein the rates of the series of similar receivedmessages are based on differences between the first timestamp, thesecond timestamp, and the third timestamp; selecting a responsive actionfrom a set of responsive actions based on the series of similar receivedcommand messages, wherein the responsive action is selected, at least inpart, based on the computed rates of the series of similar receivedcommand messages; and implementing the selected responsive action bychanging a behavior of the base station.
 2. The at least onenon-transitory memory of claim 1, wherein the series of similar receivedcommand messages are of a following message type: power-up, power-down,quality of service, data speed request, resource request, bandwidthrequest, call type origination, service type, power headroom report,radio bearer, or handover.
 3. The at least one non-transitory memory ofclaim 1, wherein changing the behavior includes decreasing power of datatransmission by the base station to a power level specified by theselected responsive action, and wherein the power level specified by theselected responsive action is based on a threshold amount.
 4. The atleast one non-transitory memory of claim 1, wherein the selectedresponsive action is based on one or more of: a type of the basestation, a type of the user equipment, or a type of command messages inthe series of similar received command messages.
 5. A method foroptimizing processing of messages received at a base station, the methodcomprising: receiving, at the base station, a series of similar messagesfrom a user equipment; computing rates of the series of similar receivedmessages based on timestamps of the messages, wherein the series ofsimilar received messages comprises a first message with a firsttimestamp, a second message with a second timestamp, and a third messagewith a third timestamp, and wherein the rates of the series of similarreceived messages are based on differences between the first timestamp,the second timestamp, and the third timestamp; selecting a responsiveaction from a set of responsive actions based on the series of similarreceived messages, wherein the responsive action is selected, at leastin part, based on the computed rates of the series of similar receivedmessages; and implementing the selected responsive action by changing abehavior of the mobile device.
 6. The method of claim 5, whereinchanging the behavior includes decreasing power of data transmission bythe base station to a power level specified by the selected responsiveaction, and wherein the power level specified by the selected responsiveaction is based on a threshold amount.
 7. The method of claim 5, whereinchanging the behavior includes decreasing power of data transmission bythe base station to a power level specified by the selected responsiveaction, and wherein the power level specified by the selected responseaction is lesser than a power level specified by at least one message inthe series of similar received messages.
 8. The method of claim 5,wherein changing the behavior includes decreasing power of datatransmission by the mobile device to a power level specified by theselected responsive action, and wherein the power level specified by theselected responsive action is a minimum power level of the base station.9. The method of claim 5, further comprising: grouping messages in theseries of messages into subsets of messages based on a type of eachmessage in the series of messages, wherein each subset of messagescomprises messages of a same type.
 10. The method of claim 5, whereinthe set of responsive actions comprises responsive actions that specifydecreasing power of data transmission by the base station to a powerlevel based on a range of rates of the series of similar receivedmessages.
 11. The method of claim 5, wherein the series of similarreceived messages includes a first message and a second message, whereinthe first message is received prior to the second message, and whereinupon receiving the second message, the mobile device directly decreasespower of data transmission to a threshold amount.
 12. The method ofclaim 5, further comprising: identifying an action policy, wherein theaction policy comprises a set of responsive actions to be taken inresponse to receiving the series of similar messages, wherein theidentified action policy is based on the message type.
 13. The method ofclaim 5, further comprising: identifying an action policy, wherein theaction policy comprises a set of responsive actions to be taken inresponse to receiving the series of similar messages, wherein the actionpolicy is based on a type of the base station.
 14. The method of claim5, further comprising: identifying an action policy, wherein the actionpolicy comprises a set of responsive actions to be taken in response toreceiving the series of similar messages, wherein each responsive actionin the set of responsive actions corresponds to a range of rates of theseries of similar received messages.
 15. The method of claim 5 furthercomprising: identifying an action policy, wherein the action policycomprises a set of responsive actions to be taken in response toreceiving the series of similar messages.
 16. The method of claim 5,wherein the behavior of the base station is changed without the basestation processing the series of similar received messages, and whereinthe series of similar received messages are of a following message type:power-up, power-down, quality of service, data speed request, resourcerequest, bandwidth request, call type origination, service type, powerheadroom report, radio bearer, or handover.
 17. The method of claim 5,wherein the behavior of the base station is changed without the mobiledevice processing the series of similar received messages.
 18. Acomputer-implemented method comprising: receiving, at a base station, aseries of messages from a user equipment; grouping messages in theseries of messages into subsets of messages based on a type of eachmessage in the series of messages, wherein each subset of messagescomprises messages of a same type; for at least one of the subsets ofmessages: computing rates of received messages based on timestamps ofmessages in the at least one of the subsets of messages, wherein theseries of similar received messages comprises a first message with afirst timestamp, a second message with a second timestamp, and a thirdmessage with a third timestamp, and wherein the rates of the series ofsimilar received messages are based on differences between the firsttimestamp, the second timestamp, and the third timestamp; selecting aresponsive action from a set of responsive actions based at least inpart on the computed rates of the received messages; and implemented theselected responsive action by changing a behavior of the user equipment.19. The method of claim 18, wherein the selected responsive action isbased on one or more of: a type of the base station, a type of the userequipment, or a type of messages in the at least one of the subsets ofmessages.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the set of responsiveactions comprises responsive actions that specify decreasing power ofdata transmission by the base station to a power level based on a rangeof rates of the series of similar received messages.